The Cleveland Ledge Light Station has stood sentry in Buzzards Bay since 1943, warning mariners of nearby dangers.

No one has lived there since the light was automated in 1978, but now a new owner hopes to transform the isolated lighthouse, about two miles offshore on a rocky ledge, into a home.

"Taking on an offshore lighthouse like Cleveland Ledge is a daunting challenge," said Jeremy D'Entremont, a lighthouse historian and author. "But I think it's very possible that it could be a summer residence."

The light is named for President Grover Cleveland, who summered in Bourne. The architectural style of the superstructure, Art Moderne, is unique among New England lighthouses, according to the National Park Service website. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was first listed as excess property by the Coast Guard in July 2007, said Patrick Sclafani, public affairs officer for the federal General Services Administration New England office.

Under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, lighthouses must first be offered to federal, state and local agencies and nonprofits.

One group initially filed an application phase but withdrew it in 2009, and the lighthouse was put up for public auction in October 2010. Sandy Boyd of California entered the winning bid of $190,000.

Boyd recently began the permitting process to turn the property into a home, Sclafani said.

Boyd did not return repeated emails seeking comment.

When the lighthouse was used by the Coast Guard, its living facilities included a galley, a lounge, sleeping quarters and a lavatory, D'Entremont wrote in his book, "The Lighthouses of Massachusetts."

But the site has no water supply, no wastewater treatment system and some asbestos "we think they need to deal with," Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Edmund Coletta said.

Photos provided by the GSA show peeling paint and water damage in most rooms.

To turn Cleveland Ledge into a residence, Boyd will have to get approval from the Falmouth building commissioner, Board of Health and Conservation Commission, Coletta said. Falmouth is in charge of the lighthouse because it sits about two miles off the town's coast.

Boyd introduced his project at an Oct. 31 Conservation Commission meeting. If he receives approvals, Boyd would then require an OK from the state Department of Environmental Protection for the change of use.

It's not the first time a Massachusetts lighthouse has been purchased by a private owner with the hope of transforming it.

Fall River's Borden Flats Light is being turned into a bed and breakfast, he said. And Cleveland Ledge could eventually be a similar attraction if Boyd chose to open it to the public.